Life can feel like it’s moving at a VERY fast pace. Sometimes, it can be exciting and all-encompassing, like you’re riding an energetic wave of creativity and excitement. At other times, it can feel overwhelming and frantic.

Which side of the coin are you currently on?

Do you feel stressed and burnt out trying to keep up? Or do you feel energized, fresh and ready to take on the day?

Hopefully, it is the latter of the two. But, if you do feel overwhelmed with heavy emotions, hang on as there are some fantastic tools and practices you can use to help manage your life.

Today, we will look at the effects of meditation on the mind.

Finding the balance

In western society, finding balance might be laughed at. It’s the last thing on people’s minds.

The minute you find the job you’ve always wanted, your relationships plays up. The minute the kids are back at school, your boss begins to become more of a challenge. Whatever it is you’re dealing with, life can feel like it’s either making you or breaking you.

Some people in life face challenges in a negative way. They whine and complain constantly about how difficult their lives are.

I was guilty of this around six or seven years ago. I was never content and I was extremely burnt out and fed up. Not only did I drive myself mad, but it began to rub off on others, too. Luckily, I found a path out and a skill set to move forward in life in a way I never knew was possible.

There are also people who had challenges, suffered the initial setback but were able to be more resilient and optimistic in overcoming life’s obstacles. They mastered the tools and skills that helped them to take on challenges in a far more productive way.

The effects of meditation on the mind

I always thought that you were either born with thick skin or you weren’t. But, as I make my way through life, I’ve realized that training your mind is simply a skill.

Like any skill we develop, it takes time, dedication and a big reason to start training in the first place. What if we viewed the mind like we do our health, the food we eat, brushing our teeth or taking a shower? I know if I didn’t shower for a week, I would feel awful and the people around me would stay clear!

One of the most effective ways to look after your mind’s health is through meditation.

See Also: Questions and Answers: A Beginners Guide to Meditation

Removing the stereotype

The word ‘meditation’ comes with quite a bit of religious and spiritual connotations. Just saying the word can make you think about monks in robes, candles, and gongs.

If you want to know the profound effects of meditation on the mind, it’s time to remove those connotations and just take it as it is.

Through scientific research, we know how much meditation has to offer and it’s becoming increasingly popular with large businesses. Google, professional athletes, celebrities and health organizations are just some of the institutions that are valuing meditation more than ever. It’s a phenomenal tool to help you look after the health of your mind.

Meditation is simply health for your mind! It’s that simple.

If you go to the gym and do a workout, you treat that as health for your body. We can view meditation in exactly the same way — a way to a healthier, happier mind.

The TV and the table

Imagine you are sat at home in your living room while watching the TV. In this metaphor, the TV represents your thoughts and feelings while the TV remote is the device you use to manage them.

Now, consider watching TV as watching your mind. This is one of the fundamental foundations of meditation. It’s your ability to watch your mind without any judgment. So, imagine you’re sitting watching the TV and scenes of anger, worry, judgment, desire and others arise. You simply stay rooted on the sofa and watch. This is known as ‘awareness’ and is something you should be skilled at.

Now, you have a remote with you, although there is a caveat. On the remote, you only have a volume switch which means that the channels can’t be changed. With meditation and time, you’ll learn how to slowly but surely turn the volume down and sit comfortably with whatever comes into your mind.

On the other side of the room, there is a table. Once you can skilfully sit and view the mind without getting lost in its stories, you can then turn the mind’s volume down and move to the table.

The table can be viewed as all the choices you have in your life. This can be your value systems, visions or things you are grateful for. It is your outlook on life and your ability to create the life you desire.

With the TV being a little bit quieter, it’s a lot easier to set a vision and create the life you want. If the TV is extremely loud, it’ll be very difficult to create the vision you desire.

Conclusion

We have all been there — absorbed in watching the TV at home. There are many times we can get lost in our thoughts and feelings.

Whether you feel extremely angry or overwhelmed with worry, meditation provides you with a skill that can help you become more aware of your mind. It provides a way to manage your thoughts, good or bad, far more effectively.

Step into your greatness today and see for yourself the effects of meditation on the mind.

See Also: The Secret Mind Hacks That Can Change Your Life Today

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Are you a helicopter dad?

Used originally by Dr. Haim Ginott, helicopter parenting is a term used to describe parents who hover over their kids’ lives like a helicopter. It has been added to the dictionary in 2011 and has since become common lingo among parenting experts.

Helicopter parenting can take many forms. The most common of which involves parents doing tasks for their children despite the latter being capable of doing the tasks on their own.

By helicopter parenting, we prevent our children from developing a healthy self-esteem and building the necessary skills they’ll need to transition into adulthood. It can cause a loss of intimacy with our kids as they grow older, too. Teens that feel suffocated by their parents report anxiety and the sense that their parents lack confidence in them.

Though it can be tempting to give our teens the same generous support we offered them when they were still young children, you need to change your mindset and behavior to get them on the right track.

Read on to discover 5 things you should stop doing for your teens today.

Pushing Your Timeline

In the same way that we might have hung up our toddler’s coat for them in order to hurry the routine, we might find ourselves rushing them when choosing their academic focus as a teenager. When we rush our children, we are prioritizing our own timeline for them over their unique process. Although your teen might eventually adjust to your timeline, in doing so, they could lose an important learning opportunity to trust their own instincts.

Give them a chance to take the initiative to do further research so they can gain confidence in their own decision-making process. Encourage them to explore what their own expectations are for themselves. Have regular conversations with them about what goals are important to them and why. Help them focus on their intentions and what motivates them.

Fixing Their Emotions

It’s not easy to watch our kids have a bad day or a bad week. However, teenagers need to learn how to cope with the full range of their emotions so that they can handle life’s struggles better. One of the most common ways that parents undermine their children’s growth is by trying to “fix” their children’s difficult moods.

Whether you do this by offering your crying toddler a cookie or lending your heartbroken teen your car, you prevent your child from processing the experience. An inability to sit with and handle disappointment leads to addictions and mental health struggles.

So, for the health of your teen, let them cry it out. If this is particularly difficult for you, consider seeking external support from a counselor or coach who can help you develop soft skills in emotional intelligence.

See Also: 10 Ways to Avoid Making Your Kid Resent You

Doing All the Day-to-Day Chores

Cleaning their room, packing their lunches and doing their own laundry and dishes are all excellent learning opportunities for your teens. One thing that household chores have in common is that they are repeated regularly. This makes them an excellent way for your teens to learn discipline and experience the natural consequences of falling behind.

With moving out of the family home on the horizon, it’s important for your teen to practice chores that will help them survive their day-to-day lives.

Once your teens take the initiative to wash their own dishes, don’t pick up the slack when they forget. Let the dishes pile up without nagging them, and give them a chance to catch up. If they bring the dishes up, inquire about what they find difficult with the chore. Offer to share what you do to stay on top of your own household work.

Tackling Their Complex Tasks

Life becomes increasingly complex as we grow up and gain new responsibilities.

While your teens won’t have you around at the office to help them prioritize for their first big project, they do have you around right now so consider this a unique training ground. Instead of taking over their application process, offer to be a sounding board. Guide them as they learn how to break down complicated challenges into more manageable tasks. This shift in mindset is about learning how to do things with your teens rather than for them.

You can take this lesson to the next level by letting them apprentice with you in some of the more complex household planning. Why not invite them to join you in learning about how life insurance works when you switch plans? Not only will this prepare them for the future, but it will also give them the chance to watch how you tackle detailed tasks.

Keeping Control of Their Finances

Because most teenagers do not have to pay for living expenses yet, they may lack proper budgeting skills. Use this time to teach your teens on how they can keep track of their finances, especially those who work part-time.

Once your teenager is ready to start his college applications, he should also be ready to start thinking about how he can pay for his education.

Begin by sitting down with your teen and teaching him the basics of budgeting over a series of conversations. Go over things as many times as he needs until he feels comfortable with handling his finances. This will not only teach him the necessarily skills to be financially responsible, but it will also help him feel more confident with his own capabilities.

Strategies for a Better Future

While the teenage years may not be a walk in the park for anyone, there are simple and effective strategies you can use to improve your relationship with your teens while helping them mature into happy and well-adjusted adults. Begin by making one of these 5 shifts and pay attention to how your teenager reacts. Soon enough they’ll be out on their own, and you’ll have the pleasure of knowing you helped them get there.

See Also: The Problem of the Perfect Parent

The post Slowly Let Go Of These 5 Things When Your Child Becomes A Teen appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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